Sports: When the outside world intrudes

Israel's Harel Levy (L) returns a forehand to Sweden's Thomas Johansson during their first round Davis Cup match in the Baltic Arena in Malmo March 6, 2009. The Davis Cup tournament was played in an empty stadium because Swedish police anticipated protests against the match following the Israeli war in Gaza. (Reuters)

No such consensus exists regarding Israel or, if it does, nobody has bothered to formalize it. The demonstrators in Sweden must have been thrilled with their efforts and the message it sent the world — that welcoming Israeli teams and athletes just like those of any other nation might just be too much trouble. Israeli tennis player Andy Ram, who was recently granted a visa to play in Dubai following an international outcry when an Israeli woman player was denied entry, called the decision “stupid” and said he feared that the Swedish action would establish a terrible precedent. (Absent the home-crowd advantage, Sweden lost the round-of-16 match by a score of 3-2.)

Israel is apparently now the sole nation whose teams warrant such outrage, whose athletes are indistinguishable from their government. No matter that teams from the world’s most repressive regimes compete in events like the Olympics or soccer’s World Cup without similar indignities. Even in recent years, as the popularity of the United States reached new lows internationally, American teams have been allowed to play abroad without the indignity of the empty stadium.

Sports is hardly the only arena — think writers and cartoonists — in which authorities have been intimidated by those whose protests are the loudest and whose threats the most virulent. But it is an abandonment of the promise of Munich to treat Israel’s athletes in such singular fashion. In Pakistan, it is the hosts who are rightly being blamed. But in Sweden, the visitors are blamed for bringing this down on themselves.

Israel’s Davis Cup team is unlikely to face this problem again, at least not this season. It will host the quarterfinal match against a strong Russian team. But Israel’s soccer team — undefeated in four group matches and one point out of first place — is in contention for a World Cup berth. And a home-and-home series against frontrunner Greece is imminent, with Israel hosting in Tel Aviv on March 28 and, a few days later, traveling to Athens for the rematch.

Security is a far more complicated affair in Greece than in Sweden. But Greece has demonstrated that it can muster the requisite effort to ensure that the games go on, as it did for the 2004 Olympics there. Hopefully, Greece is willing to accept this challenge once more — not just for Israel, but for all sport.

More GlobalPost dispatches by Mark Starr:

Baseball's Olympic banishment

Glory days